Overseas investment takes a dive

Overseas investment takes a dive

Overseas investment has fallen by 30 per cent compared to the first ten months of last year, despite new investment licences having been granted for nearly 70 projects by the end of October 2012.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the new project licences account for US$1.369 billion in registered capital, with three more being approved compared to 2011.

Despite this, overall registered investment capital has dropped by $664 million, the ministry said.

New overseas investment mostly went towards agriculture, wholesale and retail, processing and designing, mineral exploration, food and services sectors, it noted.

During the period, fourteen operating projects were also allowed to raise their investment capital by $96 million.

As of October, Vietnamese businesses have pumped $15 billion into 737 overseas projects this year. The wholesale and retail sectors attracted the highest number of projects at 133. It was followed by processing and designing (122 projects), agro-forestry-fishery (98 projects) and mining (96 projects).

In terms of investment, Laos remained the most attractive destination for Vietnamese businesses, accounting for 222 projects as of September. Cambodia ranked second with 127 projects, following by the US, Singapore and South Korea

vietnamnews